


Beautiful

by Sinine



Category: One Outs - All Media Types
Genre: Drinking, M/M, Shotgunning, he's also too smart for tokuchi's good, ideguchi is too dense for his own good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 05:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6181306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinine/pseuds/Sinine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ideguchi realizes that Tokuchi is almost offensively beautiful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

  * For [carinam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carinam/gifts).



> How are there no fics for this ship, I'm going to cry. Also it's 2am so I haven't even properly fixed all mistakes present, so sorry about that. And sorry for various language oddities, english is my second language. 
> 
> This is probably going to stay as a oneshot hahaha, otherwise its going to straight porn.
> 
> Another thing, I've never played baseball. I know literally shit about it.

Ideguchi probably subconsciously noticed it the first few times he caught Tokuchi’s fastball. At the time he’d been so mesmerized by the immense control and the delighted sound his mitt made on impact that he couldn’t focus on the big picture. But, as time went on and he had more instances to focus on Tokuchi’s playing style, he inevitably arrived to a point he never thought he would with the younger male.

 

Tokuchi Toua was beautiful.

 

The first time it passed through his thoughts Ideguchi wasn’t even surprised, as if it was inevitable he’d arrive on this at some point. The next few times he thought it, though, he at least had the audacity to feel embarrassed. But even then he couldn’t force himself to deny the simple fact that Tokuchi was painfully beautiful.

 

The fact really drove home every time he was on the diamond with the other, where he had no choice but to observe him. So far he’d observed how Tokuchi rarely made any extraneous moves while on the mound – or off the mound for that matter – which managed to give him the appearance of utter elegance. His moves were precise and if it were anyone else executing these actions they would look robotic. But not Tokuchi. Tokuchi seemed like one of the very few people Ideguchi had only heard about who had complete control over their body.

 

The catcher felt slight awe each time he saw Tokuchi either pitch, or bat, or even run. Even though he realized, subconsciously at least, that there was no way the blond could always foresee everything and react accordingly, he still made all his movements look almost effortlessly pretty. For example, the few times Tokuchi had been on base and managed a steal, he always came out of it with dirty clothes from sliding to the plate - and _still_ he looked so elegant doing it.

 

If Ideguchi could see either a painting or a sculpture of the blond, he’d be convinced the other wasn’t a real human being, but rather a made up angel – or devil to those who knew him. He was slightly surprised no one had come up to Tokuchi to ask him to model for a piece yet. Or maybe someone had? Wouldn’t that be a revelation.

 

Ideguchi, despite being curious if others thought the same way, kept these thoughts to himself. He was aware of how stunning the blond was, but he didn’t quite care enough to embarrass himself in front of his team mates, or worse, Tokuchi himself. So the next few weeks Ideguchi still had those thoughts at the back of his head, but they were barely bothering him. It was like a fact of life that the sun rose up every morning, the owner was still a greedy fuck, and Tokuchi Toua was achingly attractive.

 

And then one night when he’s out celebrating their newest victory with a few of their team members, minus Tokuchi, the others thought it was a great time to bring up their talented pitcher.

 

“But man, without Tokuchi we would’ve given up at least three more runs today,” Imai said, cheeks flushed from alcohol, words already a bit too loose on his tongue.

 

Ideguchi was tipsy enough he didn’t even bother leaving it at that and replied, “Six.” At the chorus of confused murmurs, he explained, “Six runs. We definitely would’ve given up six more runs. You guys don’t really, uh, I guess, experience it from the bench, or even while on defense, but man, you certainly feel it as a catcher.” The precision. The way Tokuchi’s calm analytical mouth made batters self-destruct next to him. The way he made feather-light suggestions to other players, guiding them towards a better play. It was suffocating in an entirely pleasant way that Ideguchi had never experienced before in his entire life. Was this why people loved using asphyxiation in sex?

 

Suddenly it dawned on the catcher how everyone was abruptly staring at him in a way that made his throat feel dry. Had he said his thoughts out loud?

 

“What’s it like being Tokuchi’s catcher, though?” Arai asked and the excitement was buzzing through the whole table suddenly.

 

“Uh,” the first thought that entered his head was that Tokuchi was beautiful, but he brushed that away and replied as accurately as he could, “It’s like… well, it feels like, what I imagine, knowing you’re going to bat a homerun the next at bat, and then doing it. It feels overwhelming and calming at the same time, because, uh, I’m not sure if anyone else feels like this, but I kinda trust him to get an out, or at least win the game, so it’s never stressful for me. It feels natural to catch for him.”

 

“I’m not really surprised,” Kojima said, taking a sip of his own drink. “He exudes that sort of confidence that we’re going to win no matter what, so naturally it trickles off to the others as well.”

 

“Yeah, yeah!” Imai added, looking elated. “Like, even if, hypothetically, we were behind like, seven runs I still wouldn’t worry too much.”

 

Kojima slapped him on the back of the head lightly, “Oi, you’re supposed to worry. You can’t let Tokuchi do all of the work. We can’t be a good team with only one or two good players.”

 

Imai managed to look sheepish at that. Being reprimanded by Kojima always put the team in their places.

 

“Is that the reason you’ve been so shitty recently at games?” Arai jibed playfully, downing another shot of whiskey. And promptly spit it back out when Imai kicked him in the shin, hard.

 

As the two started yelling insults at each other, Ideguchi sat still and stared at the glass of beer in his hands, thoughts swaying dangerously close to the parts where he’d locked his opinions on the pitcher. What did the others think? Would they agree with him?

 

“Do you guys think Tokuchi is like, ridiculously beautiful?”

 

He didn’t even notice the words were out of his mouth until all three of his companions turned to stare at him for the second time tonight. Shit. Okay. “I mean, like, haven’t you guys noticed it? He looks closer to a sculpture rather than a human being at some points.” Even now no one was saying anything. Ok, that answered that question then.

 

“I’ve noticed,” Kojima said, a contemplating look on his face. “I noticed it the first night I saw him, actually, but it was mainly because of how out of place he looked with the other ruffians during the One Outs matches. He’s kind of painfully pale against the night sky, you know?”

 

Ideguchi blinked, before the words gushed out of him, “Right?! And the way he moves is like performance art itself, especially when he pitches!”

 

Imai and Arai had both been quiet at that exchange, but now Arai finally spoke up, alcohol letting his tongue loose, “I dunno if any of you’ve noticed, but uhh…” he trailed off, obviously trying to catch his thoughts, before continuing, “he’s got golden eyes. Who the fuck has golden eyes?”

 

Was that true? Ideguchi had never noticed that, but it would make sense for someone almost ethereal like Tokuchi to have such eccentric eye colour. What else hadn’t he noticed, though? He had spent the most time with the pitcher out of all of them at this table, and yet he hadn’t noticed something simple as eye colour.

 

“I’ve never noticed that,” Imai said quietly, “but the few times I’ve been like, real close to him, I’ve noticed his skin is like, way flawless. I usually see that sort of skin only on women, like holy shit. It must be soft. And he probably takes care of his hands because, y’know, he’s a pitcher.” The man had gotten more animated the more he said and now it finally occurred to Ideguchi that he wasn’t the only one who had seen how pretty Tokuchi was, even if briefly. This thought brought a sense of relief over him – this topic wasn’t going to get him kicked off the team or anything. At least not immediately and not because of these people.

 

“He’s extremely skinny,” Kojima added, and it was a testament to how drunk he actually was that he was even joining in on them talking about Tokuchi in a manner that wasn’t entirely considerate anymore. Ideguchi had no doubt the other would put an end to this as soon as they mentioned anything too dishonourable, though. “It’s a wonder his stamina is enough to get him through even one game, considering how little muscle mass he’s got.”

 

Ideguchi hummed. “Usually I can gauge how tired he is from his pitches, but even when he’s really tired, and his arm looks kind of heavy from throwing, he still looks elegant. I’ve never seen him look even remotely disgruntled.” It was, strangely enough, the truth. The fact that Tokuchi managed to be so in control of his motor skills even while dead tired constantly amazed him.

 

“Have you guys seen him batting though?” Imai grinned. “Despite, like, uhh, being really shit at batting, he still manages to look like a fucking princess.”

 

“What a curious observation,” Arai giggled. “Are you trying to tell us something, Imai-chan?” That resulted in the two kicking each other again drunkenly, until Arai perked up again, “Oh hey, speaking of, d’ya think uh, Tokuchi has a girlfriend? He doesn’t really look like it, though. Maybe a boyfriend then–“

 

“Arai!” Kojima sounded positively scandalized.

 

Well, that was the end of that topic. Ideguchi sighed, feeling a tad disappointed, but finished the last sip of his beer before standing up. He left his part of the money on the table and said, “I think I should head on home before I get as drunk as Arai. See ya guys on Monday!” With that he turned to walk home for some hopefully peaceful shuteye. Not that he was counting on it, especially now that the other guys reminded him of all the things he found beautiful in Toua.

 

It was as if he had rediscovered an old hobby and now couldn’t stop thinking about.

 

Shit.

 

Whatever. It wasn’t anything special. The sun would rise tomorrow, Arai still wouldn’t know how to hold his liquor, and Tokuchi would still be beautiful. He’d learn to lock those thoughts away again.

 

Except, the next game, where Tokuchi also attended, made Ideguchi realize there would be no suppressing his thoughts now that he’d been made aware of them for a second time. Because, before he’d been alone and noticed the bigger picture where Tokuchi moved elegantly, or was always in control of everything he said or did - and it would’ve been left at that if he hadn’t opened his stupid mouth at the bar that night - except now...

 

After the night out drinking he became chillingly aware of being anywhere near the pitcher, and his thoughts went haywire to make him check off all the physically beautiful aspects on the mental list he’d had since the weekend. Golden eyes? Checked when Ideguchi went to ask Tokuchi what the plan for their next game was. Flawless pale skin? Checked when Tokuchi handed him the ball during practice one day. Skinny? Checked in the locker room, alongside with Imai, surprisingly enough. Does he take care of his skin like Imai suggested? …Uhh, well, not more than anyone else so far. Maybe he just naturally had smooth skin?

 

With those thoughts, though, another one began to emerge. Did Tokuchi have a girlfriend? If so, then someone else must’ve noticed his beauty. But had anyone ever actually told Tokuchi Toua, to his face, that he was pretty? Now that was probably something less likely than the girlfriend theory even.

 

Ideguchi didn’t have a hard time brushing those thoughts away from his mind once he was on the field, since he was used to games requiring his full concentration, but off the field, or even in practice, these new thoughts were rather distracting. He needed to get this off of his mind once and for all.

 

And then, once their most recent game was over, and Tokuchi was going over the game with him on the benches, mostly since he’d asked, Ideguchi’s thoughts strayed once more when he noticed he was actually getting distracted by the pitcher’s voice. Okay, this had to stop.

 

He didn’t even wait for the pitcher to finish his sentence, before he cut in, “Tokuchi, has anyone ever told you you’re ridiculously beautiful?” He had been thinking about this for the better part of the week, so any embarrassment he would usually feel right now had left him about two days ago.

 

Tokuchi actually paused in raising a cigarette to his mouth, eyes flying to Ideguchi’s to assess… whatever his mind assessed. He was dead silent for a beat and Ideguchi realized he’d actually managed to surprise the blond, instead of the other way around. Then, “No.” he put the cigarette between his lips and lit it up, looking once again calm and collected as usual. “Are you hitting on me?”

 

 _That_ made Ideguchi’s cheeks suddenly burn, and the words lurched out of him before he could even filter them properly, “What?! No, I, uh, don’t even like, uh, men, I was just- just curious-“ he couldn’t even properly ramble out any real excuses, before Tokuchi’s fingers grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him up close into _very_ personal territory. _Oh fuck, is he going to kiss me?_ Ideguchi thought weakly, paralyzed into just staring into the pitcher’s eyes just inches away from him, as the other stared back.

 

Absently he realized the other must be calculating and comparing his words with his reactions, but still the closeness brought both waves of chills and heat over him, burrowing to the bones and lingering. A tickle ran down his spine, settling in the small of his back, and the catcher didn’t even know if it felt unpleasant or enjoyable.

 

Then Tokuchi’s hand let go of his shirt and Ideguchi let the weight of his own body pull him away to a respectable distance again, only now noticing how he’d been holding his breath.

 

His mouth felt dry.

 

Tokuchi looked downright amused by his reactions, and Ideguchi had never wanted to crawl into a hole and rot as much as he wished it right then. Tokuchi took a calm drag from his cigarette, before smiling. “I’ve been called various pleasant adjectives in life, so I’m aware of my aesthetically good looks, but… you’re the first one to phrase it that way. Ridiculously beautiful, was it?” he grinned at the catcher, who felt his whole face burning.

 

“O-oh,” was all Ideguchi could manage at the moment, thoroughly shaken from how easy it was for the blond to still fluster him. And to think just a few minutes ago he’d been thinking he finally had a one up on Tokuchi Toua.

 

“But the fact that you even brought this up so casually tells me you’ve been thinking about this a lot. Now, why would I be running through your thoughts, Ideguchi?”

 

The younger male looked like he knew the exact answer to that question and, frankly, Ideguchi felt petty after what the other pulled on him just moments ago, so he looked away and crossed his shaking arms to feel a little bit more in charge of his own body. “I don’t know.”

 

Tokuchi’s hand was immediately on his chin and jaw, grip tight enough to say _don’t pull away_ , and he was pulled to face the blond again. Tokuchi took a calm drag from the cigarette in his other hand, all the while slowly guiding Ideguchi’s face closer to his again. Then, once they were just inches from each other again, Tokuchi turned to him and breathed out through his mouth, the smoke floating between the two of them.

 

The smoke entered Ideguchi’s mouth and instinctively he breathed in. It burned his lungs, but he didn’t cough, and thankfully that was the only breath Tokuchi let him breathe in, since he lightly pushed him away then, murmuring, “Reflect on it. The fact that you said you don’t know shows you’re not thinking enough.” His grip on Ideguchi’s jaw let up, but his hand stayed there, leaving the choice of pulling away to the brunet.

 

Ideguchi knew. He knew where this was going. He knew this territory was dangerous. Still…

 

“Would you like to get some coffee?” he asked over the thunder of his heartbeat that Tokuchi could undoubtedly feel. Or could, until his hand suddenly fell away.

 

The pitcher stared at him then and Ideguchi couldn’t for the life of him figure out what he'd said wrong. To his horror Tokuchi started laughing. Shit, he probably fucked something up real bad.

 

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Tokuchi said with a small twitch to his mouth.

 

Ideguchi waited, but when it seemed like Tokuchi wasn’t going to elaborate, he had to ask, “Why? What did you expect?”

 

Tokuchi eyed him calmly, smile widening on his lips, before answering, “I was expecting something along the lines of…” he trailed off pointedly, eyes tracing down Ideguchi’s eyes and face, lower, lower still, and then back up again painstakingly slow, before settling back on his eyes.

 

Ideguchi felt heat burrow into his very bones, suddenly very aware of the fact that he was achingly attracted to Tokuchi. Still… “I stand by what- uh, what I proposed,” He stuttered.

 

Tokuchi let out another breath full of smoke, seeming to contemplate this, before standing up from the bench. “Alright, let’s go.” He turned to leave, not even waiting to see if the catcher would follow.

 

Which he would.


End file.
